Tržič (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in northern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, close to the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Tržič.

Geography

The town is located within the historic

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

region on the

Tržič Bistrica The Tržič Bistrica () is a river in Upper Carniola, Slovenia. The river is in length. It starts in the Karawanks, runs through the Dovžan Gorge and the town of Tržič, and joins the Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central ...

River, a left tributary of the

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

. In the north, a road leads up to the Loibl Pass in the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks (; , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is o ...

mountain range, the border with the Austrian state of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

History

A first settlement named ''Forum in Lubelino'' was founded along the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

that ran from the ancient city of

Emona Emona (early ) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Nauportus River came closest to Castle Hill,Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

) via Loibl Pass to

Virunum Claudium Virunum was a Roman Empire, Roman city in the province of Noricum, on today's Zollfeld in the Austrian State of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Virunum may also have been the name of the older Celtic-Roman settlement on the hilltop of Magd ...

and the Zollfeld plain in the

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

province (present-day Carinthia). After a massive landslide caused by an earthquake, the original settlement was destroyed, and many people moved down the valley to establish a new village named ''Neumarktl'' in German, where Tržič is now located. These events are the basis of the legend about the origin of Tržič. The settlement, part of the

Duchy of Carniola The Duchy of Carniola (, , ) was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under House of Habsburg, Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carniola in 1364. A hereditary land of the Habsburg monarc ...

, was granted

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

to hold weekly

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

s by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

emperor Frederick III in 1492, which further promoted the development of the town. The great fire of 1811, which destroyed the buildings on the left

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

of the

River, changed the town. Much of the architecture was reconstructed in a

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style. After the buildings were rebuilt, they needed to have firewalls, iron

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

s, and window covers, a very rare feature in Europe. The town center of Tržič has been protected as a

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

site since 1985. Over centuries, the city had been a German

language island A language island (a calque of German ''Sprachinsel''; also language enclave, language pocket) is an enclave of a language that is surrounded by one or more different languages. The term was introduced in 1847. Many speakers of these languages als ...

Economy

The leather, wood, and textile industries were important to the economy of Tržič in the past but industrial activity declined after the breakup of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. The development of

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

after this period is now an important branch of the economy. Because of its alpine setting,

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

is popular in the surrounding area.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Tržič include: * Feliks Anton Dev (a.k.a. Johannes Damascenus a nomine Mariae, 1732–1786), poet, translator, and editor * Countess Francisca von Strassoldo Grafenberg (1781–1854), wife of Austrian General Joseph Radetzky * Ivan Bobersky (1873–1947), Ukrainian politician and sports promoterA memorial plaque to Ivan Bobersky has been unveiled in Slovenia
/ref>

References

External links

*
Tržič on GeopediaTourism information
(Slovenian)
Unofficial website about Tržič
(Slovenian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Trzic Populated places in the Municipality of Tržič Cities and towns in Upper Carniola